What did you do in the Apiary today?

[manek]

Wow! Both hives bursting with bees, one on a single BB and now a super, the other on brood & a half, plus two supers - the second one added today, trying to stay ahead of the bees. New glass cover boards will allow me a peek without disturbing them.

Hundreds of bees orienting, the air filled with the hum of bees and the smell of wax and honey... I have a good feeling about this year!

 

[victor meldrew]

At my place I tell everyone if they see some swarms around me - they are theirs. I really hate swarms - I see them as my failure..



Swarm season started at my place, sealed swarm qcells found in few hives - bad genes and such queens have no future at my apiary..

If you are closer such light splits I could give you cause I don't need more colonies.. Last year I gave some to one fellow beek..

Bees naturally swarm . Sealed Queen cells aren’t down to bad genes . Bees are meant to swarm to keep the gene pool as wide as possible!
Yes we control swarming as much as possible but to select for colonies practicing supercedure will eventually but them at risk of inbreeding .



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[Erichalfbee]

Pre-emptive split on one absolutely bursting colony. I nuc’d the queen with two wall to wall frames of brood and taking Swarm’s advice I’m leaving the parent box to it.
Rest are busy and have two supers on. The Bailey is going well, with queen laying and bees trying to cope with the bottom entrance being closed.

 

[masterBK]

Checked the two garden colonies today as a 10 minute break from gardening. Clipped one queen (already marked) and marked the other one. One colony doing well the other has chalk and sac brood and not doing as well. Both queens black and sisters.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

I've been moving a colony down the garden, mounted on a wheeled floor, observing the three foot rule. Frustrating. Today reached "Beechers Brook" a wall about a foot high dividing the garden. So had to disassemble and move them a couple of feet forward and six inches upward onto a pallet. Very miffed with me and lots of bees flying where the hive was. Nice bees though, not aggressive at all.
The next leg is over gravel so laid some paving slabs so my "bee mobile" can operate again. Should be sited where I want them in another week or so.

All from a mistake sticking a captured swarm somewhere temporary last June.
Another lesson learned.

 

[Goran]

Bees naturally swarm . Sealed Queen cells aren’t down to bad genes . Bees are meant to swarm to keep the gene pool as wide as possible!
Yes we control swarming as much as possible but to select for colonies practicing supercedure will eventually but them at risk of inbreeding .



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Talking commercial..
When it in beginning of the season come to 6 frames of brood, and refuse to go further and only think on swarming, no matter what you do to it.. It is for me bad, cause no honey for me if I am late with splitting.. I have colonies on 12 frames of brood and no swarming, later on of such colonies I take material for breeding.. Such colonies bring full honey boxes..
If I do it just as hobby with few colonies, it would be relative irrelevant does it swarm or not.

By the way, last night we had again -2C and all was covered in white by frost.. Apples were in bloom, some pears started to clean, black locust started to open buds.. God knows what will survive.. I treat some fruits with amino acids if it manage help overcome frostbites to eat some of own fruits.. Hazels seems more resilient..

 

[Ian123]

Horse chestnuts starting around here am looking forward to seeing that red pollen coming in. I’ve just been making up wax cups for the first round of Q-rearing

 

[victor meldrew]

Horse chestnuts starting around here am looking forward to seeing that red pollen coming in. I’ve just been making up wax cups for the first round of Q-rearing

Lots of Horse chestnuts removed from our local woodland . The bio diversity officer deems diseased . I’m no expert but the felled trees looked perfectly healthy to me . Solid heart wood , healthy looking sap wood . [emoji22]


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[Walrus]

I just did my first Demaree on my biggest colony (7+ Langstroth frames of brood). No queen cells. Followed the gospel according to St Jenkinsbrynmair. Never tried it before. Home made red dot queen, going strong for now...

 

[Ian123]

Lots of Horse chestnuts removed from our local woodland . The bio diversity officer deems diseased . I’m no expert but the felled trees looked perfectly healthy to me . Solid heart wood , healthy looking sap wood . [emoji22]


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Not sure you see the effects on the wood but it’s obvious on the leaf. Quite a few round me show the damage later in the season. It’s rather a shame lovely trees.

 

[madasafish]

No drones here: just drone brood..

Inspected all my hives again: supered them all..17C and no wind so all very laid back..

 

[Jimmy]

Completed weekly inspections here on my all hives. Still limited presence in supers but plenty of fresh nectar in the brood chambers. A few more queen cups than last week but nothing with an egg. I think the ground frosts we are getting most nights are deterring them from moving up, even with poly hives and roofs.
Driving back I saw OSR within range of all apiaries which is better than I had hoped earlier in the year. My best apiary is a plum + apple orchard - the plum has finished, the apple has just started and all of the grass between the trees is covered in dandelions. One 2-3 hectare corner is used for Brassicas and the curly kale has been left to bolt and there is an irrigation lake which is surrounded by willow .

 

[jignog]

Just got back for a visit to my hives within the last half hour.
One hive had 11 swarm cells. I completed an artificial swarm so i should have quite a few new colonies. The only downside is, it has meant dipping into my spare nucs that I was saving for my latest queen rearing project.

 

[jignog]

I forgot to mention, plenty of drone brood but also quite a few drones mooching about too.

 

[Popparand]

Put a third super on my most prolific hive. Checked another to see what happened to a test frame I put in last week. Emergency Q cell drawn and capped but it didn't look very big. Plenty of drones in the other hive (even the big bug-eyed ones!) so hopefully she'll mate successfully in a couple of weeks time.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Lots of Horse chestnuts removed from our local woodland . The bio diversity officer deems diseased . I’m no expert but the felled trees looked perfectly healthy to me . Solid heart wood , healthy looking sap wood . [emoji22]


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I thought the chestnuts suffered from leaf miners late Summer which makes the trees look ill, but do no real damage?

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Planted some screening shrubs, de-brambled and weeded areas of the apiary,and cut the lawn next to the apiary. Bees ignored me and all colonies were very busy. Birds are nesting in the boxes (robin and blue and great tits) a tree creeper has put my log store out of bounds and a wren is nesting on top of a waste pipe covered in ivy.
Furlough is turning into a blessing.

 

[Wingy]

Did inspections on my 4 garden hives & 6 allotment hives, all looking good most now have 2 supers a couple have 3. Drone brood in most hives but probably saw a total of 7-8 drones between all hives. Most had play cups then my last hive already on double brood & 3 supers had a sneaky little cup with royal jelly and a bloody egg in it. Queen still there and laying so will go back on Saturday and add a Snelgrove board as I want to keep this colony strong to take advantage of the OSR for as far as the eye can see from my apiary.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The hedgerows are groaning with holly to come. We have masses around here. Only ever seen the bees on it wholesale one year. This year would be good

 

[Ian123]

Appear to be spending most of my time ordering needed equipment, I did find thornes are no longer selling there standard foundation.